


Pale Soft Light

by EmotionalSupportPuma



Category: Borderlands (Video Games)
Genre: F/F, Fluff, but mostly just a lot of fluff, slight introspection
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-03
Updated: 2020-01-03
Packaged: 2021-02-27 06:13:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,079
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22102375
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EmotionalSupportPuma/pseuds/EmotionalSupportPuma
Summary: A secret for a secret.
Relationships: Fiona/Maya (Borderlands)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 13





	Pale Soft Light

There were a lot of things that Maya was much better at compared to her fellow Vault Hunters. For one, she had a frankly startling amount of patience compared to them, even Zer0. She wasn't particularly fond of having to wait around for long periods of time, but she could stomach it. 

Another thing would probably be her predictability. The rest of her friends were as hard to herd as a bunch of cats and half the time you would be hard pressed to find a drop of sanity between them. Maya, on the other hand, could be found in any of her usual haunts and rarely anywhere else. She was the reliable one of the group.

But there was one thing that she had in common with just about any Vault Hunter: intimacy with anyone was...difficult, to say the least. There was something about being on the run, of being a mercenary, that made trusting anyone other than yourself a rarity. They could rely on one another to an extent, but it became a sort of unspoken promise between them. No heart to hearts. 

It made entering into relationships with other people a problem. Maya had watched too many of her friends crash and burn due to their inability to truly open up. That fact alone should have deterred her from doing the same, she certainly didn't need the drama that came along with it. And yet, when the opportunity arose with Fiona, she'd said ignored her misgivings and gladly entered into the relationship.

She wasn't sure exactly what to expect going into things. Maybe that it wouldn't last long, just like the relationships of all of her friends. Regardless, they were almost a year into it and Maya wasn't sure if she'd ever been more...content. Enough so that she could let her guard down concerning one secret that she'd kept from everybody. 

Maya sprawled over the comfiest seat in the apartment with a good book in hand. Darkness seeped in from the windows, tempered only by the soft glow of lamplight. The secret of hers perched carefully on her nose, a thin pair of reading glasses that had only ever been seen by her own eyes. It was well after midnight by now and Fiona was passed out in bed. 

Or, at least, she should have been.

"Hey, wha-" The words were accompanied by the soft touch of hands on her shoulders.

Maya nearly jumped out of her skin. The movement was enough to make Fiona startle too, not quite awake enough to hold back the surprised squeak. She couldn't hold back the amused giggle that bubbled in her throat. If her girlfriend weren't so tired still, she might have smacked her lightly for it. Fiona just stared at her with a dopey grin, making her cheeks darken considerably. 

"What are you doing up?" Maya asked in an attempt to hide her growing embarrassment.

"Got cold without you to cuddle with."

It was as cheesy a statement as one could get and still it made her heart flutter. Despite the rough work that a con artist would have to do, Fiona had a remarkable softness to her. When there wasn't anyone else around for her to use that serious facade, she could wax poetic about her feelings. Something for Maya and Maya alone to witness. 

"Even with all of the blankets you hog?" She teased.

Fiona made a face, but leaned further over the back of the chair instead of snarking back. Her soft, green eyes trailed the edges of Maya's face. The blush deepened as her girlfriend studied the glasses. An adoring smile played on her lips.

"You look cute in those. When did you get them?"

She sighed low in her chest, "I've had them...since before I came to Pandora."

There was a quiet noise of surprise, but nothing more than that. Maya steeled herself over for the argument that shake their happy little world. She'd seen this a dozen times before, she had kept a pointless secret and wouldn't that insinuate that she would be willing to keep bigger ones? But Fiona didn't look angry, didn't even look annoyed. 

"You keep it a secret?" She asked, more curious than anything else.

"Yep. Nobody knows I need glasses, except you now." Maya moved to scratch the back of her neck self-consciously, "Don't ask me why, I've never been able to explain it to myself."

"You don't have to."

The words blindsided Maya, leaving her blinking in surprise as her girlfriend began to move away. She watched Fiona pad over to the bag of clothes she'd brought. After digging around for a moment, she turned around with a smile. In her hand was an old, worn watch. She offered up to Maya.

"I haven't seen you wear this before." 

Fiona shrugged, "Probably because I don't. I always keep it on me, but I've never actually worn it."

"Did it belong to your parents?" She asked cautiously.

"If only." The smile turned wry, "No, this is the first watch me and Sasha lifted after Felix took us in. I know I shouldn't care about it anymore. He betrayed us, Sasha hates him. Sometimes I think I hate him too."

"But he raised you."

"Yeah...and he did a damn good job- up until the last bit, ya know. Anyways, I haven't been able to get rid of it, so I just keep it on me. Almost like some sort of weird lucky charm."

"What does Sasha think about it?"

Fiona looked over at her with that wry smile again, "She doesn't know I still have it, let alone that it's always with me."

Maya turned the watch over in her palm, looking over the nicks in the leather as her thoughts tumbled around. This wasn't how she had expected the reveal to go. Silver-blue eyes glanced up to gauge the emotions on her girlfriend's face. Fiona was staring at the watch too, her eyes misted with something between bitter and sad. She reached out to lock their fingers together and squeezed.

"Thank you for showing me this."

"It only felt fair, a secret for a secret." Fiona squeezed back as she spoke.

Yes, Maya was rather different than the other Vault Hunters, but maybe that wasn't such a bad thing. Perhaps it meant that while this relationship might falter from time to time, it wouldn't crash and burn. It was made of something stronger. 

**Author's Note:**

> I saw some concept art, I think, of Maya with glasses and ever since I've wanted to write something about it. The title is from the song pale soft light by OWEL 
> 
> As always, all comments and constructive criticism are greatly appreciated and I hope you have a wonderful day/night!


End file.
